“You’re jealous of my and Delphina’s relationship, aren’t you?” Prince Lauris asked. “That’s why you’ve been harassing her.”
“Huh?” I muttered to myself. “Did it work?”
I felt around my new body while also examining it. Then, I balled my hands into fists and rolled my shoulders. Apparently, the transfer had been a success.
“All right,” I said. “I’m getting used to this new body.”
“Hey!” Lauris shouted. “Are you listening to me?!”
“But wow, this place is fancy,” I continued mumbling to myself.
The room was spacious enough to contain an entire baseball field. A banner on the front wall read “End-of-Year Celebration Party.” From what I could tell, this seemed to be a room within a school. It was probably what people often called a dance hall.
“They have a party at the end of each year?” I asked under my breath. “What kind of school is this?”
“Are you listening to me?!” Lauris roared.
“Um, Goddess?” I asked, ignoring him. “Can you hear me?”
“I can,” she replied telepathically. “The swap was a success. I have Alexandra’s soul here with me. I’m transporting her back into the cycle of reincarnation, so you’re free to go all out. By the way, Alexandra can use all forms of sorcery except holy magic.”
“Huh? I have no idea how to use magic, y’know?”
“Simply will it to come out of you.”
“Oh, is that all?” I responded. “Kind of a lazy answer, Goddess, don’t you think? Well, whatever. I’ll figure it out as I go.”
“Alexandra!” Lauris roared again. “What are you muttering to yourself? Listen to me!”
“Could you shut up?” I fired back. “I can hear you just fine without all the yelling.”
“Huh?” Lauris asked, his eyes widening at my change in attitude. “Alexandra?”
Well, can’t blame the guy.
“Look,” I said. “You’ve been acting like a pompous jerk and putting me down for a while now. Think about it rationally though. Who’s actually in the wrong here?”
“Wh-What did you just say?” Lauris stammered.
“Must I repeat myself? I’m just stating the facts here.”
I checked the fit of my dress. It was surprisingly heavy. The lace inside the skirt was getting in my way. Could I get rid of it somehow?
“Disappear,” I said.
The stiff lace inside the skirt disappeared with a whoosh.
“Whoa, I’m pretty amazing,” I said while checking the dress. The skirt had narrowed quite a bit. “I just used magic all of a sudden.”
Here we go. This skirt is still getting in my way a bit, but I should be able to move now.
“Hey!” Lauris shouted.
Wow, this prince is about to snap.
“Do you ever shut up?” I asked. “What’s your deal, anyway? Fawning over another woman when you have a fiancée is wrong under any circumstance. Being royalty doesn’t make a lick of difference either. You’re just a despicable person.” Here, I pointed to the black-haired Rosario and the red-haired Oreste. “And the same goes for those two.”
Both of them stiffened. Why wouldn’t they? The young lady who’d been trembling in fear had just stood up for herself. It must have seemed like someone else had possessed her. Well, I suppose that’s exactly what was going on.
“How dare you act so self-righteous while cornering a lone woman?” I asked. “And you call yourselves men?!”
“What did you just say?!” the red-haired man bellowed, moving to grab me.
“Ha!” I laughed. “You resort to violence as soon as the tables turn on you? Despicable. Is it normal to use violence against women in this country?”
Looking around, I found many people shaking their heads.
“You’re the one who picked this fight,” I said. “Keep that in mind, okay?”
Just then, something unexpected occurred.
“What’s this?” a carefree voice asked. “Did I come at a bad time?”
Looking at the door, I spotted a tall man who could only be described as beautiful. He had silver hair and emerald-green eyes. All the women in the dance hall practically swooned.
“What’s going on here?” the beautiful man asked.
Despite his soft tone, the air turned chilly. The red-haired man hastily released his grip on me.
“I don’t know what your justification might be,” the beautiful man said. “But in my opinion, there’s never a good reason to raise your hand against a woman. It doesn’t matter what terrible thing might have occurred.”
I totally agree with you, but could you stay out of my way right now?
“And I haven’t forgotten you, Lauris,” the beautiful man continued. “Why are you embracing a woman other than Lady Alexandra?”
“Well, I…” the prince trailed off.
Was he somewhat aware of being in the wrong? In any case, I decided to sum up the situation to avoid complications.
“If he can’t speak, then I will,” I said. “That woman bewitched the prince into her loyal lap dog. She doesn’t even care that he already has a fiancée. The same goes for the black-haired and red-haired men behind him. They were just trying to condemn Alex—I mean, me—with false allegations. I was about to take my revenge on them before you came along. Could you please not get in my way, mister?”
A puzzled expression flashed across the beautiful man’s face. A moment later, however, he broke into a grin. “I see. Very well then—I won’t stand in your way. Please continue.”
He continued grinning at me, apparently having decided to observe. Just what I wanted.
“Well then, shall we continue?” I asked. “I’ll start with you, ginger.”
“What did you call me?!” the red-haired man shouted.
He tried to grab me again but stopped short. Perhaps he felt anxious raising his hand against me with the beautiful man present.
“What’s this?” I asked. “Lose your nerve because one more person joined the audience?”
“Why you little!” he shouted, grabbing my collar.
“I’m not that little. Still, grabbing any woman by her collar really is despicable.”
I smoothly extended my right arm to his right side. At the same time, I also moved my right foot beside his right foot. With a light twist of my body, he lost his grip on my collar and collapsed to the ground. He seethed with rage, unable to understand what had just occurred.
“Hey, Oreste, that’s enough,” the black-haired man said.
However, the red-haired man ignored his friend’s attempt to stop him. After climbing to his feet, he cocked his fist back to punch me.
“You’re swinging too wide,” I said.
After dodging the red-haired man’s punch, I rotated on my left foot and roundhouse kicked him near the temple. Without delay, I moved behind him diagonally and aimed another roundhouse kick at the back of his neck. With that, I took down my muscular, red-haired opponent. Yet rather than stopping there, I strode towards the black-haired man, grinning all the while. In a flash, I kicked upwards with all my might, striking him on the chin.
Upon seeing me knock his two friends to the floor, the prince began stepping backwards. “S-Stop right there. Don’t come any closer.”
“What’s this?” I asked. “Why are you running away? Shouldn’t you hurry up and toss me in a carriage? You’re planning to exile me, right?”
“S-Stop right—”
I struck the prince in the solar plexus without waiting for him to finish. That single blow caused him to lose consciousness. Weak, much?
“And now for the coup de grace,” I said. I found a woman sitting next to the prince, her legs having given out. “Say, did I ever harass you?” I asked. “Could you fill me in on the details again? I can’t quite remember since I wasn’t really paying attention.”
Quivering, the woman scooted backwards on her rear. She was desperate to put even the slightest distance between us.
“I-I’m sorry,” she said. “That wasn’t the truth.”
“Huh?” I asked. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”
“L-Like I said, that wasn’t the truth.”
“Still can’t hear you.”
“Alexandra never bullied me!” the woman cried loudly enough for the entire dance hall to hear. “I made it all up!”
“Heh,” I chuckled. “See—you can raise your voice if you try. Well then, I need to give you a reward for telling the truth.”
When I grinned, the other woman smiled as well, probably thinking she’d avoided punishment. “By all means,” she said with a giggle. “I’ll accept whatever you have to offer.”
A satisfying snap resounded throughout the hall. At the same time, the woman rolled across the floor several times.
“H-How awful!” she yelped. “You promised to give me a reward!”
“That’s what I just did,” I replied. “Would you like me to give your other cheek a reward as well?”
“Incredible!” a familiar voice echoed inside my mind. “You’re exactly what I was looking for!”
“Goddess?” I asked.
“Oh, hold on a moment. Alexandra’s soul is being guided into the cycle of reincarnation.”
“Really? That’s great!”
“It’s all thanks to you,” the Goddess said. “Her nearly broken heart has returned to normal.”
“Was this really enough? I could’ve done more.”
“That’s quite all right. Anything more would have killed those men.”
I frowned. “You think?”
Sudden laughter interrupted our conversation.
“Thank you,” an unfamiliar voice echoed in my mind.
“Who’s there?” I asked.
“It’s Alexandra. I’ve safely entered the cycle of reincarnation.”
She’d come to thank me before starting her next life.
“Heh, no problem,” I answered with a smile.
A moment later, the ground began to shake. It felt as though a massive earthquake had just struck.
“Huh?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
“Change,” the Goddess replied. “A change has occurred.”
Though I could hear her voice, I didn’t understand anything more. Then, everything faded to black.